Beet-cultivator.



C. E. WHITE. BBET CULTIVATOR. APPLIOATION HLnpMAn. 21, 190s. 1,057,022, Patnented Mar. 25, 1913.

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0.1:. WHITE. BBET CULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.21, 190B.

Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

C. E, WHITE. BBE'I GULTIVATOR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 190B.

1,057,022. Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.l

CHARLES E. WHITE, F MOLINIEI, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 DEERE MANSUR COMPANY,

i 0F MOLINE, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION.

'BEET-CULTIVATOR.

. Application filed March 21, 1908. Serial No. 422,508.

. tors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in cultivating implements and has for its object Ato provide a novel arrangement of framework, supporting devices, and adjusting devices' for tool-carrying parts so that the implement as ay whole can be readily governed and the tools or operative parts can be put under fixed adjustment such as may be desired, and also readily ypermit the delicate movements and adjustments which may be desired by the operator while the machine is in operation.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a cultivating implement embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing the devices for vertically suspending and adjusting the tool frame on a scale somewhat larger .than that upon which the parts are shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a detail of the ends of the lifting lever and suspender arm and the pivot which secures them to the frame.

The machine may be regarded as having the following frame elements: A indicates the draft frame, B a rearward extending frame hinged to the draft frame, C the frame which directly carries the plow, hoes and disks or earth tools, D the frame or bars for connecting the tool frame to the draft frame, and E the parts by which the tool frame is suspended and adjusted vertically. Referring to the draft frame A, 1 is a tongue or pole' of anyy suitable sort. At the rear end it is secured to a cross-bar 2 which at its ends is turned or carried down to the axle 10, upon which are mounted two main ground wheels F. The tongue or pole is connected to this cross-bar 2 and to the axle l() by a vertical bar 3. 4 is a supplemental connecting bar interposedbetween the axle and the tongue at a point suitably far forward from its rear end, and to this bar 4 a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 25, 191.3.

clevis or draft device can be securedat 5 as desired. 1

The frame `element B is composedof bars eachbent to have at the frontl divergentv j arms 8, 8, and at the rear .parallel and com# `paratively closely placed arms 9, 9. The arms 8, 8 at their front ends are connected by pivots 7 to the bracket supports 6 which are secured to the draft frame, said pivots being preferably arranged directly above thel n The arms 9, E 9 extend back to and are rigidly'joined to a wheel axis or substantially so.

casting at 10 forthe attachment ofthe rear f wheel Gr.

The tool-carrying frame, indicated Ias anentirety by C, comprises a front cross-bar or pair of bars 13 and a rear cross-bar lor bars f 14, a short distance behind and parallel to the bar or bars 13. As shown, there are two r f bars 13 and these are spaced apart but rig idly'held together by bolted clamps 15. j The rear cross-bars 14 are also held in a similar way by the bolted clamps 16, and the frontv element and the rear elementv of this frame C are spaced and braced by the bars 17 'secured `by the clamping bolts at 15 and 16.l

The front element of the tool frame is shown as provided with concave-convex disks 18, each ofwhich is capable of, being g5 adjusted vertically as well as horiontally.y Each is supported by a vertical rod 20 4which at its upper end is 'secured by va clamping device at 19 which permits the rod 20 to be adjusted vertically as desired, or to be 7 turned around a vertical axis and clamped 1n position so as to vary the angle of the disk to the line of travel of the vehicle.

Moreover, these clamping devices at 19 can'A be'loosened and adjusted along the bars 13 outward or inward, as desired,l eitherto provide for varying the distance between the rows of plants, or for setting the 'disk of can be adjusted forward or backward by4 means of the bolt and slots at 24, the'bolt at 25 serving as a pivot arou'nd which such adroo of one of the hoes or shoes, and the` latter,"

justment can be effected; and vertical ad-y justmentof the vertical sharks is provided by forming suitable slots lengthwise of the shanks.

The tool frame can be as long as required, on lines transverse to the machine, so as to carry in practice any number of tools, such as disks, shovels or hoes. As shown, two pairs of disks are provided and hoes suflicient in number to cultivate the space between two rows of plants and to partially cultivate the ground on the outer sides of the said ro-ws. But it will be understood that the number can be varied as desired. In some cases I employ a frame long enough to cultivate four rows of plants.

This implement being particularly designed for the cultivating of beet plants, it. is desirable that the tool-.frame should be capable of delicate and ojuick movement laterally at the will of the operator and also capable of vertical adjustment as desired, of being subjected to variable downward pressure to secure proper penetration of the tools, and of a vertical yielding when in working position.

The connecting devices at D lwhich connect the tool frame to the draft-frame arev such as to permit great flexibility. 'These connections consist of bars 28,28, each `of which is at its rear end secured to a casting 29K which is tted to a coupling sleeve formed on the castings 30. The latter are adjustably clamped to the bars 13 of the tool frame, 31 being a pivot bolt which connects the castings 29and 30, the clamping bolt for the latter being shown at 27. At the front end each of these bars 28 is coupled to the draft-frame by castings at 32 and 33 with vertical pivot bolts 34 similar to those just above described.

A coupling of this character permits the tool frame to be easily shifted laterally right or left with relation to the draft-frame, as may be desired.

Thejweight of the tool frame is sustained and its vertical adjustments are effected by means of the suspending and adjusting mechanism indicated as an entirety by E,

this including a lever system at H and a link support at I. 35 is a hand lever pivoted at 36 to the frame B. 37 is an arm'also pivoted at 36 and connected by a rod 39 to the lever 35, this rod being pivoted to the arm 35 and passing loosely through the arm 37. At 40 there is a stop which prevent-s the arm 37 from separating from the lever 35 beyond the desired distance, but which permits the arm to move upward toward the lever. Such upward movement is resisted by a spring 4:1 surrounding the rod 39 and bearing in o-ne direction against the arm and in the other against the lever, or a stop adjacent thereto.

To the arm 37 is pivotally connected the Suspenders which consist of a link 33 loosely connected to the tool-frame by means of a guide bar or rail 26 having its horizontal part arranged between the lower support on the link 38 and a stop above it, also on the link. This support and stop are preferably of the form of anti-friction rollers 42 and 43 mounted in a fork at the lower ond of the link. The guide 26 can be of simple form, when made as shown, it being bent to have short downward turned legs which are secured to the front part of the tool-frame by the above-described clamping bolts at 2T.

It will now be seen that the ltool-frame is not only connected to the draft frame but is suspended from the rearward extending frame B in such way as to have great flexibility in its attachments. The operator, riding in the seat at 18, can with his foot throw the tool-frame to the right or to the left at any instant he desires. To assist him in ac-- complishing this with the utmost ease I provide twosimilar foot leve systems, one on the right and one on the left. Each comprises a lever 49, the outer end of which has a foot stirrup 50 and which is pivoted at 51 to the laterally moving parts, preferably to one of the cast-ings 29. The front end of this hinged bar or lever 49 is flexibly connected by a. link 52 to the draft-frame at 53.

The levers 49 and 52 constitute a toggle lever structure by which the power exerted by the operators foot may be made more efficient in shifting the tool-frame, said frame being moved to the right by forward pressure on the right foot stirrup and to the left by similar pressure on t-he left foot stirrup. When riding in his seat at 48, as aforesaid, the operator has perfect control of the lateral position of the tools through the stirrups and levers upon which his feet rest and with` f which they engage. The lever 35 i`s provided with a detent and thumb latch at 44 of the common kind, the detent being adapted to engage wit-h one or another of the teeth in the ratchet segment 45.

From the above description of the parts 35, 37, 39 and 4l, it will be seen that :1lthough the tools can be so adjusted and held that their operating points or edges shall be prevented from passing below a predetermined horizontal' plane; they can rise automatically under pressure from bclow, because of the yielding of the spring itl and the capability of the arm 37 to rise to some extent with relation to the lever 35; but the spring 41 under ordinary circumstances acts to press the tool-frame down and hold the tools to their work. This downward pressure exerted upon the tools by the spring may be varied by movement of the lever so as to vary the penetration of the tools and maintain them at any desired depth. This is done. furthermore. without affecting in any wav the balance of the draft frame, or the weight on the horses7 necks, because thepressiire is thrown upon thel rear frame Bwhich, 'as previously stated,l

is pivoted to the draft frame directly' above the axis of the wheels. f

vVhile the downward pressure exerted by the spring may be varied by adjustment of thehand wheel '35, as stated, it is to be observed that for any givenposition of the The rear wheel G is mounted ina castering frame 54 connected to a vertical pivot 55 mounted in the above-meiitioned casting at l0;Y

Although I have above described in detail all the parts of a cultivating implement embodying my improvements it will, of course, be understood that in many respects there can be modifications without departing from the essential features of .the invention.

By having the tool frame supported at the front in the way described, it will be seen that although it is free to rise and fall at the rear in vertical planes, it can be adjusted transversely in such way as to be maintained in para-l elism at all times, that is in parallelism with the transverse lines of the machine so that each of its positions will be in parallelism with its other positions. Consequently the working faces of the hoes or tool will always be kept in similar relation to the soil with which they contact and to the lines of draft along which they are carried. The sliding connection between the tool frame and the suspending devices which I provide, assists materially toward the attainment of this result in a satisfactory manner.

l As above described the elongated guide support is carried by the tool frame but there can be modification in this respect and the suspending devices could have the elongated part.

While it is not essential that the rear frame which is hinged to the front frame should be mounted upon a single caster wheel, there are numerous advantages in a construction having the parts constructed and arranged in the way shown. The rear hinged frame will readily follow the proper lines of travel under the government of the front frame or draft frame. The hanger or holder at 38 by being hin ed to the suspending bar 37 can swing su ciently long1tudi.

nally of the machine to'permit the free lateral movements of the tool frame, and this hanger or holder 38 is to be regarded as capable of yielding vertically as well as the suspender 37, both of these parts having an upward movement against the action of the spring 41, and both being actuated when the lever 35 is moved.

The foot lever system combined with the tool frame is operated easily and applies power eiiiciently, being connected by hinged supports to the tool frame, and also posi- -tively connected to one of the other frames,

preferably the front frame or draft frame, as shown.

What I claim is:

y 1. The combin'ation of the draft frame, the

tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, the suspending devices for the tool frame having laterally movable engagement therewith, the spring arranged to press the suspending devices downward, and the lever for positively lifting said suspending devices, substantially as v set forth.

2. The combination of a draft frame, a

tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, suspending devices for the tool frame having laterally movable engagement therewith, and a central spring and lever arranged respectively to press the suspending devices downward and to lift said suspending devices. 3. The combination of a draft frame, a tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, suspending devices for the tool frame having laterally adjust-able engagement therewith, a rod connected with the suspending devices, a' spring connected with the suspending devices, and a lever connected with said rod for lifting said suspending devices and arranged to compress the said spring.

4. The combination of a draft frame, a tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, suspending devices for the tool frame having laterally movable engagement therewith, a spring arranged to press the suspending devices downward, a lever for lifting said suspending devices, foot levers at each side of the tool frame and pivoted thereon and having arms extending forward toward the draft frame, and links arranged at an angle to said arms and pivotally connected therewith and with the draft frame.

5. The combination of a draft frame, a tool frame laterally adjustable in palallelism in its several positions, suspending devices for the tool frame having laterally movable engagement therewith, and a ceni ported' from' the' #engagement therewith, and a central spring and lever arranged respectively to press the suspending" devices downward and to lift said 'suspending devices. t c

7. The combination of a two wheeled draft "frame, a rearwardly extending frame hinged to the draft frame and havingpat its rear partasupporting groundwheel, the tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, the suspending devices for thetool frame having laterally movable engagement therewith, foot levers at each sider of the tool frame and pivoted thereon and having arms extending forward toward the ydraft frame, and links arrangedat an angle to said arms and pivotally connected therewith and with the draft frame.

8. The combination of a two wheeled draft frame, a rearwardly extending frame hinged to the draft frame and having at its rear part a supporting ground wheel, the tool frame laterally adjustable in parallelism in its several positions, the suspending devices for the tool framel having laterally movable engagement therewith, the spring arranged to press the suspending devices downward, a lever for lifting said suspending devices, foot levers at each side of the tool. frame and pivoted thereon and having arms extending forward toward the draft frame, and links arranged at an angle to said arms and pivotally connected therewith and with the draft frame.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. wHrrE.

Witnesses: F. F. HATCHER, J.. H. 'BUsHoNG.

copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents,

` Washington, D. C. 

